A SUPPLEMENT TO THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1934
Pago 14
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Roses, roses, roses! Local florists
keep beautiful weddings blooming
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Liave 1 rou-iauamy iieorsskan
The rose long a symbol of love is always
a favorite of brides. Roses courtesy Com
munity Floral.
By MILLIE KINO
"Hello, House of Flowers. May I help you? ... a
wedding? . . . Yes . . . roses? . . . yes . . . when? ...45
minutes? . . . Sure, well bring them right over!"
Most florist shops in Lincoln prefer at least one
week's notice for wedding flower arrangements.
Some as long as two months or more. But not at the
House of Flowers, 226 S. 11th St., which is within
walking distance of the County-City Building.
"We receive calls at least once a month requesting
flowers for a wedding ceremony being performed in
45 minutes at the court house," said Sandy Semer
ena, manager of the House of Flowers.
Two other Lincoln florists contacted said they
prefer a little more notice.
"Spring is the busiest season for weddings," said
Theresa Hager, owner, manager and bridal consul
tant at Paradise Floral, 4050 Cornhusker Highway.
"Especially the month of May."
All weddings are custom designed, Hager said.
Paradise Floral offers no set packages.
A bride-to-be must schedule an appointment with
the bridal consultant to discuss what the bride
wants, she said.
"I try to help guide the customer and give sugges
tions," Hager said, "but it's mostly up to the customer."
Paradise Floral, which has been operating for two
years, usually requests two months' notice, she said.
But the shop has done weddings in just one week.
A very basic bridal bouquet starts at about $25,
depending on the flowers, she said. Lilies and
orchids are the most expensive, carnations the most
reasonable.
"Ninety percent of the girls choose roses, orchids
or stephanotis," she said. "And the hottest color this
year is dusty rose."
"We also decorate wedding cakes with fresh flow
ers, upon request," Hager said.
Lynette Fast, co-manager at Williams Flowers,
Gold popular , but diamonds
still are a girl !s best friend
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ByVICKIRUIIGA
The tradition of giving diamonds
began Aug. 17, 1477, when Emperor
Maximilian of Austria proposed to
Mary of Burgundy with a gold ring,
decorated with his and her diamond
M's. They were married less than one
day later, according to Bride magazine.
Although Prince Charles slightly
altered the tradition by giving Lady
Diana a sapphire and diamond ring,
most Lincoln couples still prefer only
diamonds, said several Lincoln jewelers.
John Tavlin, owner of Nebraska Dia
mond, 856 NBC Center, 13th and O
streets, said about 10 percent of his
customers ask to design their own
rings. However, most use traditional
diamonds in a manufacturer's design.
Only about one of 100 customers
uses colored stones, like rubies or sap
phires, in the ring, Tavlin said.
Tom Wright, of Wright's Jewelers,
144 N. 13th St., said a round (brilliant)
cut is the most popular. The round cut
has been used since the 1890s. From a
mathematical standpoint, Wright said,
the round cut gives a diamond the
greatest degree of sparkle, which sets
it apart from other cuts.
However, Wright said, people also
are buying oval, marquise (an oval
pointed at both ends), and pear, eme
rald and heart-shaped diamonds just
to have rings with a different look.
Single diamond best seller
Bob Fixter of Sartor Ham aim Jewelry,
1150 O St., said his best seller is the
single diamond mounted on a plain
band.
Fixter said the diamond is preferred
because of its durability.
Lincoln jewelers estimate the typical
couple spends about $600 to $1 ,000 for
a woman's engagement set, and about "
$100 to $200 for a man's plain gold
band or $300 to $500 for a man's dia
mond band.
Fixter said in the past, nearly all
men's bands were plain gold.
Since DcBeers, a company in New
York that sells diamonds to jewelers,
began promoting men's diamond bands
in its advertisements, about one-third
of all men are buying diamond bands,
he said.
Although DeBeers recommends cou
ples plan to spend the equivalent of
two months' salary on an engagement
ring, Fixter said that estimate was
slightly above average.
Wright said some couples may spend
only $100 to $200 for a diamond, but
most spend about $400 to $600.
"Our customers are almost exclu
sively college seniors or graduates,"
Wright said. "Both have careers, and
their choice of a" ring isn't as dictated
by financial ability."
Financial investment
Although many people consider dia
monds a solid financial investment,
Wright said, they are not a good money
maker. In the jewelry business, people
are selling only, not buying, he said.
However, Wright said diamonds are
a good investment because they can be
used for 35, 45, 55 or more years
-because they are durable and often
increase in value.
Jewelers say four criteria are used to
select a diamond.
color The perfect diamond is
clear and colorless or faintly blue. As
the gem's color increases, the value of
the diamond decreases.
clarity The diamond should be
free from inclusions or imperfections.
Although inclusions are not visible to
the naked eye, they will bring down the
value of a ring.
cut The design and cut give each
diamond a unique sparkle. The round
cut gives the greatest amount of spar
kle, followed by the oval, marquis,
emerald, single, pear and heart-shaped.
carat The size of the diamond
also determines the value. One carat is
equal to 1 00 points. The most common
diamond size for engagement rings is a
one-quarter carat.
1742 N. 48th St., said, "June h bride month."
"When planning a wedding, we ask first that
brides make an appointment to speak with one of
the two bridal consultants," she said. "We listen to
what the brides want and cater to them. It's their
wedding."
"We prefer two months notice for a large wedding
and one week for a small wedding," Fast said.
"If a bride plans her wedding on Mother's Day or
Valentine's Day, we need a three to six month notice,
to guarantee the order," Fast said. "Prices almost
double."
Floral prices range from tZO for a very small wed
ding to $600 for a larp wed din;"!, she said.
An expensive wedding includes aisle carpets,
kneeling benches, canddabras, fans andor para
sols for the bridesmaids, the ring bearer's pillow,
flower basket, bride's bouquet and all the corsages
and boutonnieres, she said.
A large wedding also may include flowers for the
reception such as bouquets, table arrangements
and cake decorations, she said. Additional consul
tation for receptions costs $5 to $25.
"August and May were our busiest months last
year," said Jackie Smith of Community Floral, 1328
South St.
"We work around what the bride wants," she said.
"It really depends on the individual. Some have a
budget, others aren't limited.
"Community Floral offers services at the wedding.
In addition to work we do in the shop, for $20, a girl
will attend the wedding and handle everything per
taining to flowers," she said. "We also will decorate
the church, reception hall and wedding cakes," she
said.
"Once we had seven weddings in one day," Smith
said. "We prepared the bows and ribbons in advance,
and all the fresh flower work was done a few days
prior to the weddings. When the day arrived, we
went to work at 4 a.m. and didn't finish 'til late that
night."
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Bands usually white or yellow gold
The metal used for ring bands usu
ally is white or yellow gold in 14 K or
18K. Pure gold, or 24K, is too soft for
rings.
The strongest ring metal available is
platinum, a white metal. However be
cause it is most expensive, it is used
mainly for the prongs that secure the
diamond in place.
Because there is no standard scale
for diamond grading, Wright said, po
tential diamond buyers should deal
with a jeweler they trust.
"In the jewelry industry, there is no
top price," he said. "Consequently, it's
easy to offer a discount. Ours is a non
comparable product because when
you're looking at diamonds, you're not
looking at the same thing."
Wright said there are no rules in sell
ing diamonds, and that the market is
still "buyer beware."
"If you don't believe and trust who
you're dealing with, don't give them the
money," Wright said.
Diamond buyers should not hesitate
to ask jewelers for a 1 0-p6wtr loop or a
gem scope, he said. These can be used
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the naked eye.
